The Wellmark Foundation reports 30 Community Kickstarter grants totaling $277,654 were recently awarded for initiatives intended to make Iowa communities more active or improve access to healthy foods. Stephanie Perry, The Wellmark Foundation manager, said “All of these communities and organizations are committed to improving the health and well-being of their citizens. These grants fund projects that will have a community-wide impact now and for future generations.”

These final projects were chosen out of 79 submissions, because they focused on providing longer-term opportunities to make community members more active or improve access to healthy foods. Among the 30 grant recipients:

· $5,000 Afton Community Basketball Court Resurfacing, Afton

· $10,000 Taylor Park Playground, Creston

· $10,000 Dragoon Trace Nature Center, Mount Ayr

To learn more about these projects or The Wellmark Foundation, visit Wellmark.com/Foundation.